Thesis (Ed. D.)--Temple Baptist Seminary, 1997. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 209-213).

This study examined the holiday and leisure aspirations of the new upper black middle class in East London using qualitative approach. The study investigated aspirations of the black middle class on international travels through the lens of Veblen’s (2002) conspicuous consumption theory which entails that black middle class citizens spend in order to assert their status and belongingness to the middle class. The aim of the study was to understand their holiday and leisure aspirations, what the idea is behind or what motivates their international travels, their travel experiences and class affirmations. This exploration included the challenges and frustrations such as Ebola scare, racism, issues with foreign exchange and variations from these international visits. Data was collected through interviews with upper black middle class who are based in the Buffalo City Metro Municipality in East London, Eastern Cape. Findings from this study revealed that consumption patterns of the emerging black middle class to diverge substantially from the other groups, in terms of greater signalling of social status via visible consumption and preoccupation with reducing an historical asset deficit. Various themes emerged as meanings attached to international travelling and leisure by those black middle class international travellers. These are sense of wealth, status, religion, self-esteem, sense of reward, bonding with friends and conspicuous/visible consumption.

As cefaleias acometem grande parte da população mundial. Este sintoma afeta a qualidade de vida e a produtividade de quem as têm Crianças e adolescentes com cefaleia também são alvos destas perdas. Objetivos: Estimar a prevalência de cefaleia em uma amostra representativa de alunos dos ensinos fundamental e médio da rede pública. Verificar a relação entre: 1) cefaleias e variáveis físicas (gênero, cor da pele referida, índice massa corporal-IMC e doenças crônicas referidas); 2) cefaleias e alguns hábitos de vida (ingestão de álcool, prática de exercícios físicos regulares, horas diárias de sono noturno, horas semanais gastas em TV, internet e videogame); 3) cefaleia e uso de aparelhos, como os ortodônticos e óculos, e 4) cefaleia e rendimento escolar avaliado por meio das notas referidas. Métodos: Após sorteio de uma escola da rede estadual de ensino de cada região da cidade de Ribeirão Preto (norte, sul, leste, oeste e centro), foram sorteadas as salas de aula, uma de cada ano/série dos cursos fundamental II e médio. Foi aplicado um questionário em 415 alunos com idade mediana de 15 anos, que concordaram em participar do estudo e cujos pais ou responsáveis assinaram o Termo de Livre Consentimento e Esclarecimento. Foram utilizados os testes para análises estatísticas: 1) Teste exato de Fischer através do comando PROC FREQ do Software SAS® 9; 2) Anova através do comando PROC GLM do Software SAS® 9; 3) Regressão logística para calculo do ODDS RATIO, através do comando PROC LOGIST do Software SAS® 9. Para todos foram admitidos 95% de intervalo de confiança (95% CI). Resultados e Conclusões: a prevalência de cefaleias nessa amostra populacional é de 72,8%, sendo que nas meninas é de 79% e nos meninos 62,5%. Observamos correlação positiva entre: 1) gênero e cefaleia, meninas tem um risco estimado 2,3 vezes maior que os meninos; 2) ingestão de álcool e cefaleia, visto que os que ingerem bebidas alcoólicas têm probabilidade 2,1 vezes maior de terem cefaleia; e 3) uso de aparelho ortodôntico e cefaleia (p=0,02). Não houve correlação significativa entre cefaleia e as demais variáveis selecionadas por este estudo (cor da pele referida, doença crônica referida, IMC, uso de óculos, prática de exercícios físicos regulares, horas de sono, horas semanais gastas em TV, internet e videogame e notas escolares). / The headaches afflict a large part of world population. This symptom affects quality of life and productivity of those who have. Children and adolescents with headache are also subject to these losses. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of headache in a representative sample of students in public elementary and high schools. To verify the relationship between: 1) headache and physical variables (gender, skin color reported, body mass index-BMI and chronic diseases such), 2) headache and some lifestyle habits (alcohol intake, regular physical activity, hours night of sleep daily, weekly hours spent on TV, internet and videogames), 3) headache and use of appliances such as orthodontic and glasses, and 4) headache and academic performance evaluated by means of these notes. Methods: We randomly selected one school for the city region (north, south, east, west and center), then randomly selected one room of each series / year. A questionnaire was applied to 415 students who agreed to participate in the study whose parents or guardians signed a free and informed consent. Tests were used for statistical analysis: 1) Fischer\'s exact test with the command PROC FREQ of SAS ® 9 Software, 2) ANOVA with the command PROC GLM of SAS ® 9 Software, 3) Logistic regression for odds ratio by PROC command LOGIST Software SAS ® 9. For all patients were admitted 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results and Conclusions: The prevalence of headache in this population is 72.8% and in girls is 79% and 62.5% in boys. We observed a positive correlation between: 1) gender and headache, since girls had an estimated risk 2.3 times higher than boys, 2) alcohol and headache, as those who drink alcohol have 2.1 times more likely have headache, and 3) use of orthodontic appliance and headache (p =0.02). There was no significant correlation between headache and other variables selected for this study (skin color reported, chronic disease, BMI, use of glasses, regular physical activity, sleeping hours, weekly hours spent on TV, internet and videogames and school performance)

M.Ed. / As an Educational Psychologist, one is frequently touched by people struggling to come to terms with life’s complexities, which may in some instances be termed a life in crisis. This crisis may often involve change, which may cause the person to embark on a journey of discovery where the destination may not be what he/she had planned. A mother may embark on just such a journey when she is confronted by the loss brought about by her child’s “coming out” as either gay or lesbian. A mother approached the Institute for Child and Adult Guidance in need of guidance where the acceptance of her son’s alternative lifestyle was concerned. Her story piqued my interest as I am a mother and because I have recently experienced “coming out” with many of my friends. I immediately recognized that this was a mother on the threshold of a journey of discovery that may well enable me to assist and support others in similar situations. I wondered what I, as an Educational Psychologist, might learn from a mother’s journey towards acceptance of her son’s alternative lifestyle. In addition to this question, I realized that I would need to explore her dominant discourses, which may have influenced her view of the alternative lifestyle and that I, as her therapist, would have a role to play in deconstructing them. I would also have to deconstruct the traditional power relationship that exists between a client and a therapist and in this case between a participant and a researcher. The research was conducted within a qualitative research paradigm. In order to answer the research question and to specify the aims of the research, in terms of the Narrative Therapy paradigm, a Participatory Action Research strategy was followed. This manner of conducting research aims at constructing knowledge and meaning together with the participants of the study, thus creating a collaborative process. In this study, multiple methods of data collection were employed in order to construct and co-create rich data with the participant. This data included recordings of therapeutic conversations, as well as journal texts and letters written by my client and me. The experiences of the mother were recorded by way of thick descriptions and reflections. These thick descriptions reflected her journey towards, and our understanding of, acceptance. From the results research, it became evident that acceptance is an ongoing process. It also became apparent that my client had the ability to deal with her problems and to move towards a place where acceptance appeared to be possible. The collaborative process made it possible for a mother’s voice to be heard regarding her knowledges and skills where her own journey towards acceptance was concerned. It also broadened a community of care within her family and circle of friends and even nationally, after we were interviewed by a national magazine, the purpose of which was to offer advice to other parents in a similar situation.

Drawing from Pierre Bourdieu’s socio-cultural approach, this qualitative research project aimed to: (a) understand the responses to current body norms and expectations tied to health and physical appearances amongst underprivileged young women; and; (b) understand to what extent the dominant obesity discourse is inscribed in these women’s bodily habits. Results highlight that participants were aware of the dominant obesity discourse through their perceptions, sentiments, and dispositions towards bodily norms and expectations. Despite their awareness, underprivileged living conditions generated other sets of priorities, such as motherhood, achieving economic stability, completing education, and gaining physical independence which were far greater preoccupations. Underprivileged young women’s ‘choice of the necessary’ is based on optimizing resources and prioritizing needs and responsibilities. Findings support the use of Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts which consider the effects of various aspects of underprivileged living conditions on lifestyles.

The purpose of this study was to review the evidence linking maternal and paternal lifestyle habits in the preconception and prenatal period to adverse reproductive outcomes; to determine either the proportion of reproductive casualties which could be attributed to lifestyle risk, thus be amenable to prevention, or the information required to estimate the preventable portion of lifestyle-related reproductive casualties; and to examine a method for surveillance of reproductive health in the community which would provide the basis for a comprehensive information system suited to the needs of the research, planning, preventive medicine and health promotion communities. As a means of managing the size of the study report, only a representative set of lifestyles (smoking, alcohol consumption and nutrition) and research literature (major cohort and case-control studies in human populations) was reported in detail. A method was developed to review and describe the degree to which the evidence meets established criteria for causal association. The most recently available prevalence data for determining smoking, alcohol and nutritional risk, and incidence data for seven reproductive outcomes (infertility, spontaneous abortion, stillbirth, infant mortality, congenital anomalies, fetal growth and morbidity) in the British Columbia population were used to calculate the preventable portion of reproductive casualties in this community. A review of the variables required, compared with the data available, provided the basis for recommendations regarding a reproductive health information system to support community surveillance, evaluation and research. The study supports the conclusion that there is evidence of a causal link between exposure to lifestyle risks and the majority of adverse reproductive outcomes selected as indicators of reproductive health. The calculation of the preventable portion (etiologic fraction) of lifestyle-related reproductive casualties in British Columbia suggests the preventable portion associated with single lifestyle risk variables may be in the range of 10-50 percent. A more extensive and up-to-date set of population data for British Columbia is required to determine an accurate estimate. The benefits to be derived from an improved information system were detailed in the study. Reproductive health data collected for British Columbia is primarily outcome oriented with very little input data on which to base rational planning decisions for the improvement of reproductive health outcomes. The study recommends that a more comprehensive reproductive health information system, with an integrated, linked data base, be considered a high priority by government and all institutions, agencies and individuals working to improve reproductive health outcomes in British Columbia. The potential to improve reproductive health is significant enough to warrant action at the clinical and community level, but additional data are required to plan cost-effective intervention strategies, to monitor improvements in reproductive health, and to support applied research initiatives. / Medicine, Faculty of / Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of / Graduate

A number of lifestyle merchandising and advertising strategies are being used in the home furnishings industry. However, there is limited research regarding the effectiveness of these strategies. The purpose of this study was to explore consumers' attitudes toward the lifestyle concept. Analyses of several consumer behavior variables and descriptors offered noteworthy findings for the home furnishings industry. This study found that although lifestyle orientation is a valuable tool for delineating consumer markets, these segmentations were not significant determinates of consumers' preference for elements of the lifestyle construct. Retailers and manufacturers are not simply creating home furnishing collections that target the needs of specific psychographic segment, but rather creating lifestyles being aspired to obtain. Although respondents scored the attitude variables neutral, the current market environment offers many examples of successfully home furnishing implementations of the lifestyle concept. These success stories coupled with additional findings indicate consumers' positive response to lifestyle merchandising.

Thesis advisor: Juliet B. Schor / Why do mothers practice a sustainable lifestyle? While existing literature views motherhood as a motivating factor that encourages women to adopt sustainable practices, this article conceptualizes women's desire to live sustainably as an outcome shaped dialectically with the material experience of mothering. Drawing from interviews with eight mothers who self-identified as interested in living sustainably, this study shows that intensive mothering creates time scarcity in mother schedules, discouraging women from acting upon their ecological concerns, and exacerbates their reliance on eco-intensive options. Women adopt sustainable practices to compensate for their current inability to create institutional changes through political channels. By investing in the immaterial qualities of these practices, women pass on cultural resources that enable their children to facilitate institutional changes. Mothers' efforts in cultivating children's eco-friendly dispositions are not only a symbol of "good" mothering but also a marker of the boundary between the household and the market. My findings contextualize the formation of ecologically oriented taste within the experience of mothering and present an alternative approach to understanding why women engage in a sustainable lifestyle. This article also holds insights for explaining the relationship between engagement in a sustainable lifestyle and participation in the formal political process. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

Considering current urban challenges within the United States, the stewardship of massive, unsustainable living and consumption, collaborative cohousing communities appear to hold substantial potential as agents of change delivering sustainable-oriented lifestyles. This research examines the internal drives that intervene in adopting environmentally friendly habits and explores how they are facilitated inside this type of residence. In order to observe the benefits and limitations of this type of degrowth-oriented housing, this study covers the transformative learning experiences within cohousing residents through the conduction of semi-structured interviews as the primary method. For this research, two cohousing communities have been selected in the states of Vermont and Iowa.  Throughout the study, different drives associated with the attainment of sustainable environments have been identified. Among them, we find drives connected to the built space and the social organisation of the communities. Emphasis is also given to the internal strategies by which these drives intervene in the materialisation of environmentally friendly lifestyles. The study points out those drives that deem cohousing a beneficial tool to challenge existing economic norms and social paradigms. This study can serve as the basis for further research exploring the possibilities of considering the depicted drives as guiding models for sustainable living among more traditional forms of housing.

A dissertation submitted in fulfillment for the requirements of the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of iSizulu namaGugu at the University of Zululand, 2002.